Everyone orders off the same menu. Anyone who has not been living under a rock since the pandemic knows full well that pretty much everything is getting crazy expensive. That would be bad enough except very few of us have increased our income accordingly. This is not a political statement…. Read more »
A very high bar. Prussian-German scientist Gustav Kirchoff (1824-1887) was a pretty impressive guy. His research led to a series of electrical principles collectively referred to as Kirchoff’s Laws. Those of us who endured electrical engineering school or technical college are very familiar with Kirchoff. Yet, he’s not particularly well… Read more »
When you want it now. off grid ham quick start I recently received an email from a reader who suggested that I write an article about how a newcomer to off grid radio can get started: Batteries, solar panels, etc. I was like, wait…whaaaat? Off Grid Ham is not a… Read more »
They’re all (mostly) the same…on the outside. Solar panel technology has gotten so inexpensive that even the tightest budgets can do it. The solar panels on my roof cost about $2.50/watt ten years ago. Today I could replace every one of them for less than half that. In some cases… Read more »
Hams are on their own. confined space ham radio For better or worse, amateur radio is a hobby that typically requires a lot of outdoor space. Golfers can tee up on a golf course, and soccer junkies can use public athletic fields, but hams have so such dedicated public facilities…. Read more »
Call now! Operators are waiting! small solar power You’ve probably seen the campy ads hawking small solar power systems and “solar generators”. These ads make some remarkable claims and the manufacturers are deliberately vague on the technical specifications of these products. They further fuzz up the facts with unrealistic depictions… Read more »
A good value for the money never goes out of style. Back in February of 2016 the Off Grid Ham 100 Watts for $300 solar project made its debut. Over four years later it is still one of the most-viewed articles on this website with several hundred hits every month…. Read more »
It’s hard to follow. One issue that seems to come up a lot in the off grid radio realm is proper system grounding. The rules and expectations are hard to follow. There are a lot of opinions out there. Many of them are accurate, others are not. Today we’ll go… Read more »
Revisiting a classic. It’s been three years since I presented an article about the DIY portable DC power pack. It’s still one of the most popular articles here on Off Grid Ham. Almost every radio amateur has some version of this gizmo. Over the winter I had the itch to… Read more »
A majority of off grid amateur radio involves portable operation with small systems. There are many reasons for this: Many people cannot afford large scale fixed solar; some are held back by homeowner association rules or want to incorporate amateur radio with camping & hiking activities. Other amateurs are motivated… Read more »
A little less than a year ago I published an article about Google Project Sunroof, what it means to off grid hams, and general observations about the initiative and its implications. You can read the original article here. At the time I could find no way to remove oneself from… Read more »
I do very few product reviews here on Off Grid Ham because there isn’t much that hasn’t been reviewed elsewhere a zillion times already. I also want to avoid the conflict of interest that comes from accepting free stuff in exchange for reviews. AS Tool, a small Taiwan-based operation trying… Read more »